Interest Lost in Harry Potter?

Multiple reports have been streaming in about how
pre-sales for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are breaking records
[we have posted some of these reports]. Judging by the sales numbers contained
in the reports, you would think that the Harry Potter fan base is growing.
However, according to the latest report, Harry Potter may be losing interest
with existing readers and having problems picking up new teenage readers.
What!

Half-Blood Prince = Increased Pre-Orders != Popularity

According to a report from the LA
Times, the popularity of the Potter series comes down to a
simple statement-- 'It's about a little wizard boy, and when you're a teenager
you're just not caring what happens to the guy with the wand. I just wasn't
caught up with them. I never put on a cape and had a wand myself'. The book
has slowly spread its influence among the older generations and the youngest
kids, but now it seems to have opened a gap between the two age groups.
But why?

Personally, I don't think this should be much of an issue that any Potter
fan should bother themselves with. My first problem with the article is
it seems to look more at 'Potter nuts' than just Potter
readers. Obviously, the number of people who read Harry Potter
continues to grow; hence the increase in sales for Half-Blood Prince.
Any person who has read all of the five Potter books is pretty
much guaranteed for a reading of HBP.

Scholastic, the publisher of the Harry Potter
books, responded to this issue by stating, 'Of course, we've lost some,
but I don't believe we've lost [a lot of] readers. I believe we have expanded
to parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents. And then we have the new
readers. The beauty of the children's market is that our readers come into
the market and they grow with us. There are new children every year who
are ready for Harry Potter.'

Another issue that can have the largest role to play is the number of teenagers
that actually read. We have the young children who get read to, and then
we have the young to old adults who just enjoy reading. The fact that Harry
Potter is a 'kid's tale' should make no difference, considering the
fact that death and violence both do occur in the books.

I believe the biggest problem is this-- there are people out there who hear
about Harry Potter and think what a nerdy premise it is. Take me for instance;
I made fun of the idea for the first film Sorcerer's Stone. After
being pleaded with by multiple people, I was 'forced' to read Harry
Potter. I ended up reading all five books within three months, I was
that addicted. I am now trying to convince my dad to give this series a
try, but he is even more hesitant than I am. Why is Harry Potter a best-selling
novel? Cause it is just that damn good!